Winter Break Part 7: I Got Engaged!
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Finally it was the 26th, the surprise day Jonathan planned for me! I had been curious about it ever since I had decided to see Bigbang in Tokyo. I was trying to decide whether to go on the 26th or 27th and Jonathan told me to go on the 27th. I asked why and he said we were doing something on the 26th but wouldn't tell me what. I was kind of suspicious, but he said some things to make me think it wasn't a big deal. He said I'm always the one planning our trips and wanted to give me a break. I still kind of wondered why he wouldn't tell me anything, but it kind of made sense. If he had told me any plans I probably would have tried to do most of the planning anyway.
After breakfast at the hotel, we took a shuttle bus to Shinagawa Station. There Jonathan told me that we were going to Asakusa. I couldn't figure out why we were going there. Sky Tree was close, but why wouldn't we go to a closer station? There were cat cafes and bunny cafes in the area but I knew Jonathan wouldn't want to ruin the rest of his day with allergies.
When we arrived in Asakusa Jonathan began searching for something. He headed towards the river and looked around there for something. Then I figured it out. He was looking for a boat dock. Back in the spring I had looked up some boat info so I knew that many of them begin in Asakusa.
We crossed a street and soon Jonathan found the ticket office and bought tickets for the Himiko boat to Odaiba at 1:25. So what we were doing until then? Skytree!
I had been up in Skytree before, but I had said I would like to go back on a sunny day when views were better. The weather was very clear that day!
It was fairly early on a Friday morning so it wasn't busy at all. We were able to pretty much just walk right up to the ticket counter and get our tickets. We hardly waited for an elevator either.
The views were beautiful and we saw Mt. Fuji! Perfect weather!
It was so cool to see Skytree's shadow!
There was a display of Hello Kitty dressed in different outfits representing the prefectures of Japan.
The Shizuoka Hello Kitty was dressed to pick green tea.
Then we went to the glass floor area and didn't get a good picture ourselves because it was pretty crowded in that area. To the side of that area they were taking pictures on another glass floor and it was free to take a picture. You only had to buy it if you liked it. They also took a picture with our camera for free. It turned out ok, but the angle was better on the one that they did.
The picture turned out really well so we actually got it. I really love this picture of us.
Then we went up another 100 meters to the second observatory at 450 meters. That elevator is a lot of fun because it has windows so you can look out over the city as you rise higher and higher.
Jonathan took that picture on the way back down to the 350 meter observatory. The roof of the elevator is also glass and has a cool view.
After heading back down to the ground we decided to eat lunch. It was a bit early but that meant that the restaurants weren't crowded yet. We decided on Starbucks even though we had been just the day before.
While Jonathan waited for our drinks I claimed a table by the window. When I leaned way back I had a cool view of Skytree.
That was my view when I didn't lean awkwardly.
I had a sandwich and an orange mocha Frappuccino. It was sooooo good! I could taste the chocolate, coffee, and orange and they went together really well.
After looking around in the shops a bit we took the train back to Asakusa and waited for the boat for a little while.
The Himiko boat was really cool! It has a glass ceiling so you can see the surroundings very well.
The boat goes under many bridges on Sumida River. Each bridge is different.
We both got some guava juice which was very tasty.
The boat took about 45 minutes to get to Odaiba, but it felt like about half that time. It was a neat way to travel in Tokyo.
Then Jonathan said we had free time until around four. So we went in Decks for a little while and both played Lord of the Rings pinball. Jonathan bought a Lucky Box and got a slot machine figure. The prizes are usually horrible, haha.
Next we went to Diver City (another mall) because I had only been in the food court there before. It had some good stores, but the mall itself wasn't as interesting as others in Odaiba. At that time Jonathan and I were both pretty tired. I'm not an afternoon person. Mornings (but not too early) are nice and I like night, but afternoons are when I feel tired and lazy. Jonathan got some macadamia nut coffee at a place called Honolulu Coffee Company. I had a few sips and it was good. I didn't get one for myself though because I had already had a Frappuccino. Plus, I knew I would wake up soon anyway.
Then it was almost four and Jonathan still wouldn't tell me what was next. He told me to follow him. Once we were up and walking in the fresh air I woke up.
We briefly stopped in Venus Fort. While Jonathan used the restroom I admired the adorable jewelry at the Rolianne Pink Made kiosk. Then we left and passed through the Toyota Mega Web showroom. I figured we were heading towards Daikanransha, the Ferris wheel because there's not much else on the other side of the Toyota showroom. I doubted we were doing anything in there unless there was some crazy cute glittery Hello Kitty car bedazzled with real crystals for me to test drive. But since it was sunset I figured we were going to the Ferris wheel. I was right!
It wasn't dark yet, so it wasn't crowded and were able to get right on.
The view was neat as always and I could see the silhouettes of mountains in the sunset. So pretty!
It's a sixteen minute ride in total so we slowly made our way to the top. Then at the top Jonathan proposed to me! I said yes of course! :)
The ring was in an adorable felt cake box. Soooo cute! :)
The ring is perfect, too! I hadn't really thought too much about it, but I knew I wanted a simple, white gold ring that won't go out of style. He picked out a great ring and a cute box. He knows me so well! :)
Too soon we reached the ground. They tried to sell us the picture they had taken of us before we got on, but unfortunately it hadn't turned out so well.
We found a quiet area to take our picture with the Ferris wheel. Jonathan sat his camera on his backpack and used the timer. It turned out pretty well though!
We had some time before the next activity (Jonathan said there were still two things left!) and that it would be a while until we ate dinner. He said we should eat a snack. I chose Auntie Anne's which I had seen in Diver City earlier. I got a kinako pretzel. Yummy!
Then we headed towards Tokyo Teleport Station (just a subway station unfortunately, haha). Jonathan said we were going to Maihama Station. That really confused me. I couldn't think of anything there besides Disneyland and Disney Sea. We had been to Disney Sea just two days before. Plus, it was late so anything there seemed unlikely. What could we be doing???
After breakfast at the hotel, we took a shuttle bus to Shinagawa Station. There Jonathan told me that we were going to Asakusa. I couldn't figure out why we were going there. Sky Tree was close, but why wouldn't we go to a closer station? There were cat cafes and bunny cafes in the area but I knew Jonathan wouldn't want to ruin the rest of his day with allergies.
When we arrived in Asakusa Jonathan began searching for something. He headed towards the river and looked around there for something. Then I figured it out. He was looking for a boat dock. Back in the spring I had looked up some boat info so I knew that many of them begin in Asakusa.
We crossed a street and soon Jonathan found the ticket office and bought tickets for the Himiko boat to Odaiba at 1:25. So what we were doing until then? Skytree!
I had been up in Skytree before, but I had said I would like to go back on a sunny day when views were better. The weather was very clear that day!
It was fairly early on a Friday morning so it wasn't busy at all. We were able to pretty much just walk right up to the ticket counter and get our tickets. We hardly waited for an elevator either.
The views were beautiful and we saw Mt. Fuji! Perfect weather!
It was so cool to see Skytree's shadow!
There was a display of Hello Kitty dressed in different outfits representing the prefectures of Japan.
The Shizuoka Hello Kitty was dressed to pick green tea.
Then we went to the glass floor area and didn't get a good picture ourselves because it was pretty crowded in that area. To the side of that area they were taking pictures on another glass floor and it was free to take a picture. You only had to buy it if you liked it. They also took a picture with our camera for free. It turned out ok, but the angle was better on the one that they did.
The picture turned out really well so we actually got it. I really love this picture of us.
Then we went up another 100 meters to the second observatory at 450 meters. That elevator is a lot of fun because it has windows so you can look out over the city as you rise higher and higher.
Jonathan took that picture on the way back down to the 350 meter observatory. The roof of the elevator is also glass and has a cool view.
After heading back down to the ground we decided to eat lunch. It was a bit early but that meant that the restaurants weren't crowded yet. We decided on Starbucks even though we had been just the day before.
While Jonathan waited for our drinks I claimed a table by the window. When I leaned way back I had a cool view of Skytree.
That was my view when I didn't lean awkwardly.
I had a sandwich and an orange mocha Frappuccino. It was sooooo good! I could taste the chocolate, coffee, and orange and they went together really well.
After looking around in the shops a bit we took the train back to Asakusa and waited for the boat for a little while.
The Himiko boat was really cool! It has a glass ceiling so you can see the surroundings very well.
The boat goes under many bridges on Sumida River. Each bridge is different.
We both got some guava juice which was very tasty.
The boat took about 45 minutes to get to Odaiba, but it felt like about half that time. It was a neat way to travel in Tokyo.
Then Jonathan said we had free time until around four. So we went in Decks for a little while and both played Lord of the Rings pinball. Jonathan bought a Lucky Box and got a slot machine figure. The prizes are usually horrible, haha.
Next we went to Diver City (another mall) because I had only been in the food court there before. It had some good stores, but the mall itself wasn't as interesting as others in Odaiba. At that time Jonathan and I were both pretty tired. I'm not an afternoon person. Mornings (but not too early) are nice and I like night, but afternoons are when I feel tired and lazy. Jonathan got some macadamia nut coffee at a place called Honolulu Coffee Company. I had a few sips and it was good. I didn't get one for myself though because I had already had a Frappuccino. Plus, I knew I would wake up soon anyway.
Then it was almost four and Jonathan still wouldn't tell me what was next. He told me to follow him. Once we were up and walking in the fresh air I woke up.
We briefly stopped in Venus Fort. While Jonathan used the restroom I admired the adorable jewelry at the Rolianne Pink Made kiosk. Then we left and passed through the Toyota Mega Web showroom. I figured we were heading towards Daikanransha, the Ferris wheel because there's not much else on the other side of the Toyota showroom. I doubted we were doing anything in there unless there was some crazy cute glittery Hello Kitty car bedazzled with real crystals for me to test drive. But since it was sunset I figured we were going to the Ferris wheel. I was right!
It wasn't dark yet, so it wasn't crowded and were able to get right on.
The view was neat as always and I could see the silhouettes of mountains in the sunset. So pretty!
It's a sixteen minute ride in total so we slowly made our way to the top. Then at the top Jonathan proposed to me! I said yes of course! :)
The ring was in an adorable felt cake box. Soooo cute! :)
The ring is perfect, too! I hadn't really thought too much about it, but I knew I wanted a simple, white gold ring that won't go out of style. He picked out a great ring and a cute box. He knows me so well! :)
Too soon we reached the ground. They tried to sell us the picture they had taken of us before we got on, but unfortunately it hadn't turned out so well.
We found a quiet area to take our picture with the Ferris wheel. Jonathan sat his camera on his backpack and used the timer. It turned out pretty well though!
We had some time before the next activity (Jonathan said there were still two things left!) and that it would be a while until we ate dinner. He said we should eat a snack. I chose Auntie Anne's which I had seen in Diver City earlier. I got a kinako pretzel. Yummy!
Then we headed towards Tokyo Teleport Station (just a subway station unfortunately, haha). Jonathan said we were going to Maihama Station. That really confused me. I couldn't think of anything there besides Disneyland and Disney Sea. We had been to Disney Sea just two days before. Plus, it was late so anything there seemed unlikely. What could we be doing???